South Korea’s retail giants Shinsegae Group and CJ Group have agreed to cooperate on logistics and retail businesses to compete with domestic and overseas rivals. The two retail giants signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday for their partnership centering on the Shinsegae Group e-commerce platform’s utilization of CJ Group’s nationwide logistics network. According to their announcement, CJ Logistics will be in charge of deliveries of goods sold on Shinsegae Group’

South Korea’s leading biosimilar company Celltrion said Wednesday that its Vegzelma, a bevacizumab biosimilar referencing Roche's anticancer drug Avastin, has secured 12 percent share in the Japanese market. Since its launch in January last year, Vegzelma has seen fast growth despite the biosimilar being the latest launched among four bevacizumab biosimilar products in Japan. Celltrion said it was able to ramp up sales of Vegzelma by cooperating with Japanese distribution partners.

Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho said Sunday that he expects US approval of the planned merger with Asiana Airlines to come by the end of October. “We expect full approval by the end of October this year,” Cho said in an interview with Bloomberg in Dubai, Sunday. He stressed “no further concessions,” saying “We have done everything the US and EU have requested us to do.” His comments come as the US is the last of 14 jurisdictions in which Korean Air need

Lotte Biologics, a South Korean contract development and manufacturing organization, and Merck’s process solutions arm signed a letter of intent for a strategic partnership in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and process development, the company said Friday. Under the partnership, Lotte Biologics plans to purchase raw materials and solutions from Merck for its development and production of pharmaceutical products in the future. “Lotte Biologics expects its partnership with Merck will

The Korea Herald on Wednesday hosted its weekly Global Business Forum (GBF) under the theme “Age of Hyper-Uncertainty: Global Business Opportunities and Trends,” with Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon and German Ambassador to Korea Georg Schmidt in attendance as the key speakers. In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Schmidt stressed that the world’s advanced economies, including Germany and South Korea, are faced with similar challenges such as trade protectionism, geopolitical te

German pharmaceutical company Merck Life Science on Wednesday started the construction of a new bioprocessing production center in Daejeon, in which it will invest around 300 million euros ($325 million) -- the company’s largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The new bioprocessing production center will be built on a 43,000-square-meter plot of land within Daejeon’s International Science-Business Belt, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. Merck Life Science will aim to complet

The number of international flight passengers using foreign airlines exceeded that of those using Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the nation’s top two air carriers, in April – the first time they have done so without pandemic restrictions in place. According to data released by the Land and Transport Ministry on Wednesday, the number of outbound and inbound travelers using foreign airlines was 2.25 million last month, while there were 1.36 million passengers for Korean Air and 877,47

Samsung Biologics, one of the world’s largest contract and manufacturing organizations, said Monday that it will be participating in the upcoming 2024 BIO International Convention, the biopharmaceutical industry’s largest gathering of the year that kicks off in San Diego next week. This year, the event titled “Time for Science to Shine,” will be held on June 3-6 in the US, with some 1,500 companies joining from around the world. Taking part in the event for the 12th conse

South Korean companies’ growing investment in Georgia has led to increases in the number of flights and passengers traveling to Atlanta, the capital and most populous city in the state, according to industry sources Monday. “Delta Air Lines saw a significant increase in the number of business trips from Incheon to Atlanta and decided to deploy extra flights between the two cities,” said an official from Delta Air Lines' Korean office. Starting May 7, Delta Air Lines expand

Korean defense company Hyundai Rotem and trading firm STX signed a $60 million contract with Fabrica de Armas y Municiones del Ejercito SAC, the Peruvian state arms procurement agency, to export K-808 White Tiger wheeled armored vehicles. It is Korea's first export of armored vehicles to Latin America, according to Hyundai Rotem on Wednesday. Under the contract, Hyundai Rotem and STX will supply 30 units of K-808 vehicles to Peru by the end of 2024. Hyundai Rotem will be responsible for pro

EnFin, the US-based residential solar financing subsidiary of Hanwha Q Cells, has recently completed the sales of the first asset-backed securities worth $250 million, the Korean energy solution provider said Wednesday. EnFin provides financial solutions to consumers who install solar panels in their homes. The company began its operation in January 2023. According to Hanwha Q Cells, the ABS sales comprise bonds backed by thousands of consumer loans. RBC Capital Markets acted as the sole structu

Artificial intelligence’s impact on the marketing sector will become much greater in the following years, said experts who joined the Digital Marketing Summit 2024. The Digital Marketing Summit is an annual digital marketing conference that invites marketers and experts to share the latest tactics, trends technologies and insights from the industry. The latest summit runs between Tuesday and Wednesday at Coex in Seoul. “AI is going to have such a big impact on us. Technology today is

South Korean builders remain alert against geopolitical risks rising across the Middle East that could throw cold water over their expectations to take a ride on the region's construction boom. Instability in the Middle East, a key market for Korean construction companies overseas, has been sparking concerns over possible setbacks in infrastructure and maintenance projects undertaken by the builders. "Oil-exporting (Middle East) economies are heavily dependent on oil prices, which ar

Starbucks Korea announced Thursday that the company has introduced a faster hiring process that will halve the time to recruit baristas and workers at its branches. “The existing hiring process takes around 50 days to recruit new employees, but the new hiring process will take roughly three weeks,” an official from Starbucks Korea said. According to Starbucks Korea, the new hiring process will be tested at 50 of its branches across the country. The company could extend the adoption o

South Korea’s pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the development of anti-obesity drugs to take share in the rapidly growing market, which is estimated to hit $100 billion by 2030. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is one of a few Korean drug companies that have been pushing ahead with their clinical trials for homegrown anti-obesity drugs. The drug company is currently expected to be the first Korean company that will launch a homegrown anti-obesity drug. “Hanmi Pharmaceutical is the only